150 Famous And Amazing Sun Tzu Quotes-The Art Of War
FAMOUS AND AMAZING SUN TZU QUOTES (2022)
1) ”Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
2) ”Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
3) ”The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
4) ”The wise warrior avoids the battle.”
5) ”What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.”
6) ”Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.”
7) ”One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. ”
8)”In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
9) ”The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
10) ”If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
11) ”Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
12) ”Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
13) ”All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
14) ”One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.”
15) ”If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.”
16) ”Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.”
17) ”He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”
18) ”To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
19) ”Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.”
20) ”If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
21) ”mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy.”
22) ”The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”
23) ”Wheels of justice gind slow but grind fine.”
24) ”Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.”
25) ”It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.”
26) ”He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”
27) ”When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.”
28) ”If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.”
29) ”In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack-the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.”
30) ”He who relies solely on warlike measures shall be exterminated; he who relies solely on peaceful measures shall perish.”
31) ”If you are near the enemy, make him believe you are far from him. If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are now.”
32) ”So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.”
33) ”Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”
34) ”Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy’s fate in our hands.”
35) ”If I determine the enemy’s disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it.”
36) ”If we wish to wrest an advantage from the enemy, we must not fix our minds on that alone, but allow for the possibility of the enemy also doing some harm to us, and let this enter as a factor into our calculations.”
37) ”In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.”
38) ”Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons.”
39) ”If you do not take opportunity to advance and reward the deserving, your subordinates will not carry out your commands, and disaster will ensue.”
40) ”You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”
41) ”There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.”
42) ”He will win whose army is animated by the spirit throughout all its ranks.”
43) ”There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be not attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.”
44) ”The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations.”
45) ”One need not destroy one’s enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.”
46) ”Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
47) ”Excessive rewards are a sign of desperation. Excessive punishments are a sign of exhaustion.”
48) ”There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.”
49) ”Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.”
50) ”He who only sees the obvious, wins his battles with difficulty; he who looks below the surface of things, wins with ease.”
51) ”The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.”
52) ”People may have the finest talents, but if they are arrogant and stingy, their other qualities are not worthy of consideration.”
53) ”Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.”
54) ”A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return.”
55) ”The best military policy is to attack strategies; the next to attack alliances; the next to attack soldiers.”
56) ”Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”
57) ”Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.”
58) ”Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.”
59) ”For should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.”
60) ”Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is noise before defeat.”
61) ”If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.”
62) ”In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.”
63) ”Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.”
64) ”When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack.”
65) ”On open ground, do not try to block the enemy’s way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies.”
66) ”When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men’s weapons will grow dull and their ardour will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.”
67) ”Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.”
68) ”The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.”
69) ”He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.”
70) ”If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
71) ”In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them.”
72) ”Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”
73) ”To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy’s numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.”
74) ”These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.”
75) ”When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away.”
76) ”Never venture, never win!”
77) ”If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.”
78) ”Be where your enemy is not.”
79) ”If his forces are united, separate them.”
80) ”Plan for what it is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.”
81) ”Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.”
82) ”Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.”
83) ”Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.”
84) ”Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.”
85) ”Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength.”
86) ”But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”
87) ”If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame. But, if orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.”
88) ”To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
89) ”Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”
90) ”the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
91) ”It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.”
92) ”Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.”
93) ”Conform to the enemy’s tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive.”
94) ”Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
95) ”Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.
96) ”Those skilled at making the enemy move do so by creating a situation to which he must conform; they entice him with something he is certain to take, and with lures of ostensible profit they await him in strength.”
97) ”If there is disturbance in the camp, the general’s authority is weak. ”
98) ”Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.”
99) ”the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation.”
100) ”Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.”
101) ”Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”
102) ”if you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner.”
103) ”Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.”
104) ”do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat.”
105) ”Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy’s purpose.”
106) ”Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.”
107) ”You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”
108) ”“The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.”
109) ”Deep knowledge is to be aware of disturbance before disturbance, to be aware of danger before danger, to be aware of destruction before destruction, to be aware of calamity before calamity. Strong action is training the body without being burdened by the body, exercising the mind without being used by the mind, working in the world without being affected by the world, carrying out tasks without being obstructed by tasks.”
110) ”You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.”
111) ”Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind.”
112) ”When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.”
113) ”Invincibility lies in the Defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.”
114) ”The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points.”
115) ”We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.”
116) ”By reinforcing every part, he weakens every part.”
117) ”It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.”
118) ”Order or disorder depends on organisation; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on dispositions.”
119) ”The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.”
120) ”Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise; for the result is waste of time and general stagnation.”
121) ”The general who does not advance to seek glory, or does not withdraw to avoid punishment, but cares for only the people’s security and promotes the people’s interests, is the nation’s treasure.”
122) ”When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.”
123) ”To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.”
124) ”When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.”
125) ”It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.”
126) ”All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”
127) ”The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.”
128) ”One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other’s military without battle is the most skillful.”
129) ”No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.”
130) ”For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death.”
131) ”Like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.”
132) ”Danger has a bracing effect.”
133) ”Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.”
134) ”Supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.”
135) ”Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.”
136) ”You have to believe in yourself. ”
137) ”If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.”
138) ”He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”
139) ”If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”
140) ”Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.”
141) ”Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”
142) ”Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”
143) ”There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.”
144) ”When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteoousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders.”
145) ”Great results, can be achieved with small forces.”
146) ”Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
147) ”Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”
148) ”Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm.”
149) ”Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.”
150) ”Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”
